NBA Playoffs Thread

Iverson's selfishness works on an otherwise bad team. If I have a bunch of guys who can't score, I want an Iverson on the floor with them who can create his own points and maybe some points for others. If I have a competent team, Iverson's poison. He becomes Westbrook refusing to throw it to Durant down the stretch. The thing is, LeBron usually was Iverson in Cleveland. He dominated the ball because he had to on that team. He came to Miami and took the fewest shots of his career, which tells me he gets it. He understands he now has other options and he isn't so single-minded that he has to get his. And he still scored points. He only averaged one point less a game than in his last season in Cleveland.

Look, a lot of great scorers go through that transformation. Jordan did. During the championship years, there were a lot games, heck most, where Jordan would really let the game flow and only "take over" when he smelled the blood in the water or when he felt the team needed it. Kobe would take two steps forward and one back with it. As opposed to Iverson, who never did seem to see past his little world, Kobe always understood, but he just has that enormous ego. Sometimes it worked out, sometimes (like when he had the greatest center of the last 20 years on his team and refused to aquiesce a little) he was poison.

We're at agreement that in stretch runs -- especially stretch runs where Miami is struggling offensively -- James needs to be more aggressive and Miami needs to be more creative in finding ways to spur his aggression. But I'd much rather move forward from where Miami is now with James than having James and Wade fighting over one another shooting too much. Remember, James' first three and a half quarters came in the context of another game Miami was in control of. It's not about his volume of shots because I thought his floor game was pretty good to that point. But when things went stagnant, it's time to change gears and he didn't do it.

Put it like this, going forward I like the chances of Spoelstra getting what they need out of James much more than Scotty Brooks' chances of getting what they need out of Westbrook.

 

This whole idea that LeBron is out there as The Creator helping his team do the work is a complete fallacy. LeBron doesn't have the ball in his hands, so in addition to scoring and determination, Wade is providing the ballhandling too. And LeBron isn't even trying to get himself in position. Go back to the end of Game 3. Yeah, he made the pass to Bosh. BFD, Brad Miller has made the same kind of pass 4,000 times in his career. But look at the two shots he took. The first one, he trapped himself against the baseline and let Marion own him. The last one, the one that could have been the dagger and prevented Dirk from even having a chance to tie it ... he had at least 5 feet closer he could have come to the ball. Instead, with a two-point lead, he kept hanging out back by the three-point line -- and next to a teammate -- and then hoisted low-percentage three-pointers that, oh by the way, were completely unnecessary given the game situation.

That's two times he got the ball in the final minute and he hoisted a couple of shots from 25-30 feet instead of getting himself a better shot. Jordan or Magic or Bird or whoever didn't always take the last shot. But when they didn't, they were still part of the play, they weren't standing over in the corner hoping someone else would help them out.

But, a prediction for tonight: LeBron will take at least 15 free throws. This is going to be 2002 Game 6 style reffing. The NBA and ESPN have too much invested in this "LeBron is the greatest" storyline to let it go any other way.

 

I'm definitely rooting for James to succeed to slience some of tha yapping about him, and he does possess the skills and qualities to be one of the all time greats, but the more I think about game 4, it really does leave a major tarnish on his legacy, especially adding on to last year's game 5.

Went back and was looking at some of Jordan's final stats for his first three--and if there was a game under 20 points, much less 10, it was maybe one. Everything else was 20+ on up to above 50. So, the comparisons to Jordan getting further and furthey out of sight every time he brings one of these dud games.

But, on the flip side, as a big fan of the 70s era Sixers, he's already much, much better and more accomplished than George McGinnis. How I wish that McGinnis had only thrown up 1 shot down the stretch of any of those Portland games....

You also have to wonder about Lebron's mental makeup and whether he's not quite right psychologically. You see superstars lay an egg on the big stage a lot in sports, but you just don't see them meekly defer, quietly fall into the shadows. He's got the physical skills to be perhaps the best; the more I think about Tuesday, what's between his ears may be the limiter.

 

wow. lebron is much better than mcginnis? GEORGE MCGINNIS? didn't realize that was supposed to be some sort of accomplishment.

 

um, no, he can't. never has, never will dominate a game with 8 points. great point guards can. great centers can. the lebrons of the world MUST put at least SOME points on the board to DOMINATE a game. folks here are getting delusional about what lebron can do with his immense talents. he CAN be dominant. but only is scoring is part of his equation. c'mon, get a grip, people.... magic johnson could have a game with 8 points, a dozen of rebounds and assists and control the game with the ball hands his on every possession, running the show. james is fabulous. but he's not that kind of 'making everyone better' type of player.

 

What's stunning, to me, is how openly Stephen A. and Freddie Coleman where saying "Something personal is clearly going on with LeBron. It's obviously a personal issue that's bothering him" on the radio yesterday. They came about as close to bringing up the Gloria/Delonte stuff as you could without actually saying it as one possibly could. It makes me wonder if there is some family/wife/kid/baby mama thing going on that a lot of people know about, but just aren't going to say in public.

 

Only reason McGinnis' name ever came up was because of some stupid comparison that was backward anyway.

When McGinnis had the ball, you winced when he put up a shot.

When LeBron has the ball, you wish he would put up a shot (or drive or create something).

 

It probably somehow involves Pau Gasol's girlfriend.

 

he has the tools to do it (triple double tools) but not the game-style to do it. i challenge ANYONE to give us an example of a game james has DOMINATED with fewer than even 20 points. i'm not talkin' about his team winning when he doesn't score a lot; i'm talking domination, as in controlling the tempo and distribution of the ball. listen, this isn't a knock of lebron -- few players can 'dominate' with less than 10 points. he just isn't one of 'em.

don't confuse the point: lebron's teams can win without him scoring more than 8 points. heck, they came thisclose tuesday night. but they can't win and leave you feeling like he was the best player on the floor. this ain't a knock; i don't thinj jordan ever 'dominated' a game with 8 points, either. all i'm saying is that the notion lebron is one of those unique players who can is false.

 

So, hypothetically, if LeBron had eight points, 16 rebounds, 10 assists, five steals and four blocked shots with no turnovers and his team won by 20.....that's not dominant?

 

LeBron was dominant in the way he took Terry out of the offense in the fourth quarter of Game 1 and it had nothing to do with scoring. So he can be dominant without scoring.

 

He shut down the Mavericks' sixth man? Wow. He really is the King! :